Inspiration: Life Lessons Learned…

“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.” Mortimer Adler

Inspiration: Life Lessons Learned... viewing the world through a stained glass window

What lessons have guided your life? What mistakes have shaped who you are? What lessons meet you at your door daily, begging to be addressed? Life is filled with lessons and, everyday, we have an opportunity to not only learn something new that empowers us, but, quite possibly, something that tests our resolve, our faith, our character, our state of mind. It is interesting to consider that what we call experience is knowledge gained from both magical and miserable moments in our lives; from our successes and our mistakes.

Our mistakes add to our basket of knowledge and, each day, we get another go at it; to gain mastery or to fail and try again. Whether we view the world through a stained glass window; intricate, complex, with shadings of light and dark, or through rose tinted glasses; bright, glossy, rosy, it doesn’t matter as long as we remember the lessons learned from what we experienced; from what we saw/heard/felt…

Inspiration: Life Lessons Learned... rose colored/tinted glasses

Below is a beautiful poem, “I’ve Learned,” shared by Andy Rooney, the funny journalist on CBS60 Minutes. I split the poem in two and the other half is below… He covers a lot of ground on lessons learned that definitely resonated with me… I think you can relate to many of them. What lessons have you learned? 😉 More below.

I’ve Learned by Andy Rooney
I’ve learned… That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
I’ve learned… That when you are in love, it shows.
I’ve learned… That being kind is more important than being right.
I’ve learned… That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I’ve learned… That I can always pray for someone when I do not have the strength to help him in some other way.
I’ve learned… That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I’ve learned… That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
I’ve learned… That simple walks with my father around our compound when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
I’ve learned… That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I’ve learned… That we should be glad GOD does not give us everything we ask for.
I’ve learned… That money does not buy class.
I’ve learned… That it is those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
I’ve learned… That under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I’ve learned… That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I’ve learned… That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

Inspiration: Life Lessons Learned... The Difficult Lesson by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

I’ve Learned by Andy Rooney, Continued
I’ve learned… That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I’ve learned… That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I’ve learned… That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
I’ve learned… That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
I’ve learned… That life is tough, but I am tougher.
I’ve learned… That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
I’ve learned… That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
I’ve learned… That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away (so if your Mom is still around, take time out to express your love to her more).
I’ve learned… That one should keep your words both soft and tender, because tomorrow you may have to eat them.
I’ve learned… That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I’ve learned… That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you are hooked for life.
I’ve learned… That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.
I’ve learned … That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

As I read the poem, I could see lessons I learned over the years, lessons I am yet to learn, as well as lessons I have not had to learn. We all carry our burdens and our lessons vary; some of us have more to learn than others, some of us are open to learning than others, whilst others of us are forced to learn whether we think we need to or not. Whether a genius or a schmo, no one is above learning. As long as we have life, we have knowledge to share from our experiences as well as lessons to learn from our interactions with others; perfection is not a requirement for life… The lessons make us stronger; build our character and our knowledge base. What are your thoughts? What lessons have you learned in life? If you had to pick 2 or 3 to share what would they be? Do share! Thank you. 🙂

I’d heard parts of Andy Rooney’s poem, but didn’t know who had written it. Thank you, Eliz, I think I could write a different post about each line…maybe I will on my Saturday Ramblings. 🙂
Have I made any mistakes? Many!
Have I learned anything from them? Much!
I was always afraid to speak up and always comforted myself with the thought that even though it night seem I was “going along” with whatever someone else said, inside I held fast to my own beliefs. I’ve learned to speak up and speak out for what I believe in…and this has strengthened me and has given me even more confidence in myself.

I was touched by the poem too and could write on each line… not a bad idea Viv! Go for it…
I read each one and felt a connection to most. One thing: I’ve learned to trust that everything happens in it’s own time; not a minute sooner. 🙂

This has been the most important lesson I’ve learned: I must forgive myself. Having the strength to do that has led me to learn so many other lessons, by enabling me to see I’m not “bad” simply because I did something wrong . . . and that it’s OK to move forward and try to do it better tomorrow.

Self-forgiveness is huge! Until we can forgive ourselves, it is hard to truly forgive others… We pay lip service to forgiveness but it shapes/colors our lives and how we live and play with others… I hear you on this one. very impt point. 🙂

That’s a very insightful poem from Andy Rooney. I’m trying to decide which one lesson strikes me the most, but almost all of them make me say, “Oh yes, that’s true!” I’m not going to say that I love all the lessons life has taught me, because some of them, I had to learn the hard way. But they definitely have contributed, and continue to contribute, to my growth.

Great post, Eliz. My Dad always says “Everything happens for a reason.” I’ve often struggled with that premise, but have finally matured to the point of realizing that, yes, everything that happens has a ripple effect on our lives and that when bad things happen, we may not ever understand in this lifetime what good may have come of it. But I do believe one day we will understand everything.

The lessons make us stronger; build our character …
+
a lesson, resume, result, summary?
if you are fallen from cruise ship into the sea, swimming and watching the ship drive away – then you make a summary …

Very nice post. This was so touching and can one really see the multitude of seeing life in different aspects, even through rose colored glasses. Our minds and our perceptions of what we see and hear, can be taken in so many directions. I too do not believe in judging, we never know the circumstances behind one’s ways. I like “Money does not buy class”, this is so true-real class of one’s lifestyle is found from the heart.

Thank you Penny! It is human nature to judge others and while it is petty behavior, some can’t stop it. We all look at situations different and even when we are on the same page, we have a different perspective . 🙂
The heart matters.

When I was very young, I used to think – well, when I finish high school I will know everything so I won’t have to learn anymore!! Yay! Then, I went to college. That’s when I found out how much fun learning can be. Then I went to law school and found out – oh, never mind, learning is not all that fun after all… 😉 But it is life that has taught me the most valuable lessons. The ones that are not in a classroom book. Life’s lesson become experience and experience is knowledge.

Lovely post, as usual, Elizabeth! Love the poem. There is so much in there that all of us can relate to! I also love the poem “Children Learn What They Live”. I grew up with that pasted to our refrigerator with a magnet. 🙂

I was fortunate enough to participate in a collaboration of 108 bloggers who created a book called Life Lessons. It is available on my blog as a free download. Full of great insights and stories you would love.

“I’ve learned … That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.” So true! They say if want something done, ask a busy person! And I just love that painting you featured!! So soft and powerful…

Sometimes we tend not to fully understand this lessons until we fail and learn it by ourselves. Failures come to our lives as a blessing, a blessing that teaches us the true meaning behind these challenges. 🙂